The Canterbury Tales Women Essays - The Canterbury Tales

The Canterbury Tales' Women The Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer is a collection of stories told by a group of pilgrims on their way to Thomas a' Becket's tomb in Canterbury. Throughout the stories, women are often portrayed in two opposing ways. The women in these tales are either depicted as pristine and virginal, or as cunning and deceitful. First, women are described as being pristine and virginal. This type of woman is always beautiful and has men vying for her affections. However, she is so pure that it seems she is unattainable. She is not treated like a real person and people never ask her what she wants. This virginal woman is captured in the character of Emily in The Knight's Tale. Emily, who is described by the author as radiant and serene (32) enchants two cousins and cause them to argue over her. Palamon is so love-struck that he states Woman or Goddess, which? I cannot say. (32). He doesn't even know her yet calls her ... my lady, whom I love and serve (34). When Arcite is released, he becomes sick because he can no longer see her. He is described as Thin as a shaft, as dry, with nothing left./His eyes were hollow, grisly to behold,/Fallow his face, like ashes pale and cold (39). When the cousins finally reunite, Palamon claims Emily for his own once again by saying You shall not love my lady Emily./I, no one else, will love her! (45). They are engaged in battle when the king rides by with his wife and Emily. When confronted, Palamon tells the king that Arcite dares love Emily (49), and that he is also in love with Emily the Bright (49). Even though Emily is sitting right there he still doesn't talk directly to her, instead he tells the king. Emily is herself immune to love: she has seen neither of the knights, nor is she aware that they have seen her, much less that they are in love with her (Hallissy 59). Poor virginal Emily knows no more of this affair,/By God, than does a cuckoo or a hare! (51). However, the king tells the cousins to get Ready by battle to decide his claim/ to Emily. (52) without even asking her what she wanted to do. If he had asked her, he would have found out that she wanted to remain a virgin and marry no one. She even prayed that she would be mistress, no, nor wife. (65). However, she was forced to marry Palamon when he won the battle. Secondly, women are described as cunning and deceitful. This type of woman causes her husband nothing but heartache. She is depicted as a liar and a cheater with low morals. She is a woman neither to be trusted nor respected. In many of the stories she makes a fool of her husband by having adulterous affairs. This type of woman is depicted in the Miller's Tale, the Merchant's Tale, and in the character of the Wife of Bath. In the Miller's Tale, Alison who is described as . . a fair young wife, her body as slender/As any weasel's, and as soft and tender; (90) marries an old man named John. John then takes in a lodger by the name of Nicholas. Since there is a big age difference between Alison and her husband, there is an assumption that Alison is sexually unsatisfied and thus easily seducible by a younger and more virile man--a man just like Nicholas (Hallissy 77). John foolishly leaves the two at home alone while he goes to Osney. Nicholas seizes this opportunity to make his move: he held her haunches hard (91) and begs her to satisfy him. Immediately: She gave a spring, just like a skittish colt Boxed in a frame for shoeing, and with a jolt Managed in time to wrench her head away. And said, Give over, Nicholas, I say! (91). However, it rapidly becomes clear that Alison consents to Nicholas's advances. In fact, so swift is the courtship that it is clear that Alison is a woman of exceedingly flexible moral standards-- she is, in modern terms, easy (Hallissy 77). It is not long before another man named Absolon also falls in love with

Know Thyself Essays

Know Thyself Essays Know Thyself Essay Know Thyself Essay When early Grecian philosophers developed theories in the premodern period. they challenged many dominant premises of this period. Socrates and Plato were two of the most influential early philosophers who addressed the issue of the good life. For these two philosophers. the good life was an ethical life. Socrates was celebrated for his statement Know thyself. Psychologists throughout history have echoed this. Plato had some radical thoughts on what it means to be human. He was responsible for conveying dualism into popular idea. This had a profound influence on faith. doctrine. and Western thought as a whole. What implications does the statement Know thyself have. along with other thoughts of Socrates and Plato. for the procedure of human alteration? How is this related to accomplishing the good life? How will this impact the rating of a person’s grade of populating the good life? What was Plato’s apprehension of human nature? How did dualism influence this apprehension? Be certain to back up your decisions with information drawn from the online content. the text edition. and other believable. scholarly beginnings to confirm the points you are doing. Apply APA criterions to for composing and commendations to your work. Submit your response to the M1: Assignment 3 Dropbox by Wednesday. November 13. 2013. The paper should be 3-5 pages. double-spaced 12-point typescript. Times Roman fount. with 1-inch borders all about. and free from grammatical mistakes. This page count includes the rubric page. text. and mentions. In life the Socrates’ celebrated statement Know thyself has great significance to the lives of people today. Deductions surely come with this type of statement and Socrates and Plato provide thoughts of how a human can alter in order to under who they truly are. While many think the good life is approachable so many do non cognize how to acquire to that point in their lives. Plato’s ain apprehension of human nature introduces dualism which shows another option to populating the good life. Life has cardinal ends in it and in order to understand a person’s intent it has to be understood what Socrates meant when he said the statement Know thyself . To Socrates that meant a manner of accomplishing the good life. His two primary points of the good life were being ethical and holding self cognition ; the most of import tools to hold. The statement Know thyself has decisions such as how one should populate and what they should seek. The replies to these inquiries come from seeking God and pleasance and populating a moral and treated life ( Argosy. 2013 ) . Socrates believed that worlds obtain cognition through analysis of constructs and rational procedure will convey nonsubjective truths. Additionally. he believed that with addition in cognition comes increase in virtuousness ( King. 2009 ) . Half truths lead a individual to a route of non cognizing themselves to the full but when they use the societal. mental and physical cognition they have together they can larn who they genuinely are. Human alteration can non come without a individual recognizing a alteration is needed. Plato’s beliefs were more on rational beliefs than on centripetal beliefs and a theory of signifiers. In the theory of signifiers he believed psyches were reincarnated into another organic structure and the new organic structure may still hold remembrances of the past organic structure doing it hard for the psyche to grok ( King. 2009 ) . He had his ain metaphor the oculus of the soul where he felt the universe was perceived through memories. images that keeps the psyche from seeing the true world signifier. Besides. there were three types of psyches ; rational. appetitive and affectional. The rational is in the caput. appetitive in the intestine and affective in the thorax. He besides believed that we are all chained inside a cave unable to see the outside universe because we rely on senses alternatively of signifiers but we can get the better of this by get awaying imprisonment through ground.

Critical analysis of book The Catcher in the Rye Essay

Critical analysis of book The Catcher in the Rye - Essay Example He is resoundingly negative in his view of the world, and his search for an identity is constantly filtered through his dark condemnation of virtually everything and everyone around him. The facts of his life show that he is unable to stick at anything for very wrong: he drops out of several schools, is hospitalized in a mental hospital, and seems unable to connect with anyone in a meaningful manner. This anomie is associated with two traumatic experiences: the death of his brother and the suicide of boy in one of classes. Holden searches for an identity through criticizing everyone around him. His word for them, one that has entered the language as a pejorative instantly associated with the character, is that they are all "phony". Virtually everybody that Holden sees around him is phony, and it is a judgment that eventually makes him turn towards himself. He judges people in a superficial way, and uses humor to cover the fact that he realizes how utterly alone he is in the world. The passage in which he imagines that someone will probably write "fuck you"2 on his grave his hilarious and yet deeply revealing. The fact that he would think about his own grave as a teenager, let alone the abuse that someone would write on his headstone, shows that Holden has a more imaginative and deeper view of the world than his resolute condemnations of everyone suggest. His cursing and his cynicism are perhaps a protection as, like many teenagers, he has no idea of what his real identity is or should be. This tendenc y is seen in the first lines of the book: If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth. In the first place, that stuff bores me . . . 3 He adopts the pose of millions of teenagers who came after him: not caring about the world and all its conventionalities of biography, but accidentally reveals that he is surprisingly well-read. He has just been expelled from prep-school, and reveals that he has not only read Charles Dickens, but has understood it well enough to make fun of its conventions. Holden's search for identity throughout the novel is full of such accidental revelations of a deeper self. As with many teenage boys, Holden is obsessed with sex; but unlike many of them he is peculiarly puritanical about the subject. He admits that he is a virgin, and spends most of the novel trying to lose that virginity but also thinks that sex should only occur between people who care deeply about one another. Casual sex is an abomination to him, as when Jane has a date with a boy she hardly knows. At the same time, Holden reveals that he is interested in a much darker side of sexuality, such as the idea of spitting at a lover during the sexual act. Once again this reveals the depth of his imagination: he is a virgin but can imagine a particularly savage form of sexuality that involves humiliating and essentially hating the partner. He regards this behavior as "crumby", but want to indulge anyway. Holden's search for an identity is constantly hindered by his reluctance to move from his supposedly innocent childhood world of genuineness and openness into the hypocritical adult world of phonies. Here his name has important symbolic meaning. Caulfield

Strategies Embraced by Williams-Sonoma Company Case Study - 31

Strategies Embraced by Williams-Sonoma Company - Case Study Example The current policies embraced by Williams-Sonoma are increasingly becoming outdated. Till now, these strategies have been successful in increasing the business growth level within the company. Competition keeps growing day by day, and new companies are launched daily within the retail market industry. According to information from the case study, Williams-Sonoma has many market competitors who specialize in similar products(Rouse, 2010). Different companies are also adopting different strategies to distribute their products due to the adoption of new technological advancements. So, it is obligatory for Williams-Sonoma to adopt new strategies if they want to sustain their position in the retail market. If the company decides to maintain its current strategies, business competitors are likely to triumph over them by adopting the latest technologies, and strategies. Competing companies need an adequate competitive advantage in order to outperform each other. Without such strategies, performance may decline due to the various challenges experienced in an extremely competitive business. A company that updates its database regularly to accommodate after sale services attract potential buyers. For this reason, it is necessary for Williams-Sonoma to develop, and implement innovations if they expect to maintain their current market position and attain higher levels of business growth. The strategies used by Williams-Sonoma are very efficient, and I would adopt them if I were the CEO. By implementing these strategies, I would grow and enhance the success of the business. But, I would focus more attention towards expanding the international market rather than the US market alone. At the moment, Williams-Sonoma underestimates the potential of other markets in enhancing their business success. I believe the idea of expanding the market scope would benefit the company. I would also encourage more use of the modern telecommunication systems, and the Internet to broaden the market scope to other parts of the world.     

Hochschild viewpoint Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Hochschild viewpoint - Essay Example Every time an employee was lost, much money was lost in the training and recruitment of new ones. The company tried to deal with this issue by offering a variety of remedial that included the solution to balance in work and family for instance, part time and sharing of jobs. To her surprise many families preferred to work more than to be with their children and family members. Hochschild interviews like six families watching on how they operate during the day and night. She also interviews various levels of professional and is surprised by what she hears. The employees at Amerco concentrate so much at work that they forget the essentials. Hochschild as a female analyzed the enormous entry of women into the labor force. It looked fair and obvious that as women left their various homes every morning along men to their various jobs to build the economy and maintain their families as they returned from work should share the house chores which never happened. Instead, as they came from work women took to all home responsibilities. Hochschild referred to it as a double shift as women worked both at work and at home (Hochschild, Pp 15) Nevertheless, there is a superwoman who can multitask and perfect both at work and home. In the present most women are faced with the challenge of what was considered a full time works in the past generation. To make it worse, as cutting workers size has occurred, the hours of work have been added for everybody. Hochschild in her book tried to show the extent to which time is ever limited that they cannot fulfill their obligations both at home and work. Statistics show that women who have small children spend more time at work than the ones with no children. â€Å"Family values and reversed worlds† according to Hochschild tries to show how various family values have been invaded by work efficiencies and time pressures while places have turned out to be temporary homes for these

Stereotypes Of Mental Illness Sociology Essay

Stereotypes Of Mental Illness Sociology Essay Stereotypes of mental illness form through personal experiences combined with the influence of external sources, the most influential probably being the mass media. Theoretical conclusions suggest that the media has a powerful influence over society, but they do not consider the types of media and the varying audience associated. This study will attempt to examine whether Disneys portrayal of mental illness affects how society perceives mental illness. This research will be analysed using secondary data. The research is completed through a reviewed selection of Disney films and examination of how characters are assigned mental illness traits. The characters are then compared to how people in similar situations would be accepted in society, and compare whether the Disney films have influenced this acceptance. Results of the study indicate that more research is needed. OMIS2 Low Risk Research Ethics Approval Where NO human participants are involved and/or when using secondary data Undergraduate or Postgraduate or Member of staff evaluating service level quality Project Title Does Disneys portrayal of mental illness affect how society perceives mental illness. Principal Investigator Certification I believe that this project does not require research ethics approval. X I confirm that I have answered all relevant questions in the checklist honestly. X I confirm that I will carry out the project in the ways described in the checklist. I will immediately suspend research and request a new ethical approval if the project subsequently changes the information I have given in the checklist. X Principal Investigator Name: Stephanie Sandall Date: 13/06/2012 Students Supervisor (if applicable) I have read the checklist and confirm that it covers all the ethical issues raised by this project fully and frankly. I confirm that I have discussed this project with the student and agree that it does not require research ethics approval. I will continue to review ethical issues in the course of supervision. Name: Thomas Thurnell-Read Date: 22/08/2012 Introduction The Walt Disney Corporation is an American mass media company which is most famously known for childrens films (Booker, 2012). This dissertation will explore the influence of the media on the audience, more specifically to examine whether Disneys portrayal of mental illness affects how society perceives mental illness. I have identified common features in literature regarding the influence of media and public opinion, and relevant sources will be applied to this study. The Oxford English Dictionary defines mental illness as a condition which causes serious disorder in a persons behaviour or thinking (2012), this does not necessarily mean that society shares the same understanding. Mental illnesses are variations of behaviours that are not considered acceptable in society, a process of socially diagnosing people that deviate from societys norms and can easily be affected by social change (Scheff, 1975). Stereotypes of mental illness form through personal experiences combined with the influence of external sources, shared patterns of behaviour and interactions and affective understanding learned through the process of socialization (Damen, 1987), implying that societys norms and values are what carve our individual personas. Negative stereotypes can also lead to the process of stigmatising, isolating members of society, sometimes even institutionalising members in order to force conformity. Terms associated with mental illness are reduced to casual i nsults rather than official medical terms as society constructs those with abnormal behaviours to be mentally ill (Scheff, 1975). Previous research implies that the most influential external source to shape public opinion to be the mass media (Breslow, 2002). The Walt Disney Corporation is the worlds largest media conglomerate, primarily based in film and television sectors of the media industry (Best Communications Degrees, 2013). Approximately 200 million people will view a Disney film in a year (Giroux, 2002). Due to its large scale availability and popularity, this study aims to examine whether Disneys portrayal of mental illness affects how society perceives mental illness. The Walt Disney Company influences how children are introduced to norms and values of society through its attractive magical image associated with its films. Disney films are considered as a normal form of entertainment for children by society, allowing Disneys perception of society to be taught without challenge, as a result socialising the audience into what Disney finds to be an acceptable ideology (Giroux, 2002). The purpose of this study is to examine whether Disneys portrayal of mental illness affects how society perceives mental illness. This research has practical relevance which hopefully through its findings and conclusion will add to the scientific knowledge, and make society more aware of any effects the media has on the perception of mental illness, most specifically Disney films. In order to understand how Disney movies present mental illness to society through its characters, I will conduct a literature review to gain a stronger background of knowledge on the subject before writing a methodology that will be used to investigate my research question. To assess the research question, I will primarily analyse secondary data and combine this with a personally reviewed selection of Disney films to investigate how characters are assigned mental illness traits. The secondary data will be formed of quantitative and qualitative approaches. I find this technique will allow me to gain a bette r and deeper understanding of the subject. I will then compare the Disney characters to how people in similar situations would be accepted in society, and whether the Disney films have influenced this acceptance. Literature Review Society is dependent on the media for information and entertainment due to its easy access, as well as its ability to be culturally encoded for all to understand. According to Breslow (2002), the mass media perform three major functions in society, these are: educating, shaping public relations, and advocating a particular point of view across society. The Walt Disney Corporation is an American mass media company which is most famously known for childrens films and is the worlds largest media conglomerate (Best Communications Degrees, 2013). Due to Disneys large scale popularity, this study aims to examine whether Disneys portrayal of mental illness affects how society perceives mental illness, since the coverage of mental health in the media is a controversial subject and it is deemed as a sensitive topic by some individuals in society. Audience Research It is not only the media source itself, but the audience that needs to be considered. Disney films are generally intended for a younger audience. Evidence demonstrates that children are the main viewers of Disney films (Booker, 2012). Children can be easily influenced by media consumption as they easily accept and internalise media messages, this is shown by Banduras Bobo Doll Study (1963). Bandura divided 48 girls and 48 boys into 3 experimental groups and a control group. The groups were subject to different conditions associated with a Bobo doll. The first group witnessed an adult become aggressive towards a Bobo doll in a live scenario. The second group viewed a film of the adult acting aggressively to a Bobo doll. The third group watched a cartoon animal act aggressively towards a Bobo doll. The children watched the aggressive acts individually, preventing an influence of opinion or distraction off other children in the group and allowing individual differences of opinion to eme rge. After observing the models, each of the children from the four groups were individually put in a room with an experimenter where they were exposed to a mildly frustrating situation to elicit aggression. After this, the children were sent to play in a room of toys which included a Bobo doll. Researchers covertly observed the children, noting any interaction with the Bobo doll. Results showed that the children who had been exposed to the aggressive behaviour, exhibited nearly twice as much aggressive behaviour than the control group. The results demonstrate that media can be influential on the behaviour of children, therefore implying that Disney movies may affect a childs behaviour. This study can be criticised due to having a small ethnocentric sample size, so the results cannot be generalised to the wider society. However, it must also be considered that children may associate adults as disciplinary figures, so the children mimic the behaviour shown as if they are trying to co nform to adult behaviour. Despite this, this study is appropriate to the research as it demonstrates the influence that media and adult role models have on children. Audiences may also interpret results differently, as Thompson (1995) argues that audiences do not automatically passively accept information but actively select and interpret, resist or even challenge the media, affected through individual differences and experiences. In contrast, McQuail (2005) suggests that the media can have planned and unplanned effects on the audience, with short and long term effects. McQuail does not generalise the audience to be a mass being, as he finds these factors to be heightened by individual differences. Therefore, there is a fragmentation of the audience, in this example Disney films are primarily associated with a younger audience (Booker, 2012). As a result, there is no single mass audience, people may choose to watch a programme at a later date and media messages may not spread throughout society. Furthermore not everyone in society will view the media, so people will not share the exact same values. Despite this, the audience is widely dispersed and the media is easily able to control the audience and spread messages (McQuail, 2005). Contrasting to this perspective, Disney may be more focused on capitalism than social control, as found by Fiske (1987), Disneys content could be influenced through the structured media market-led environment through the consumer choice of media and globalisation. The media is a business and the audience is the consumer. Public interests are subordinated to private capitalistic interests. It could be further considered that the media has become a form of ideological apparatus (Milner and Browitt, 2002). The media narrative is constructed to encourage the acceptance of social positions, leaving the individual to emotionally invest in the source through identifying similar personal traits. The perspective associates the audience as a passive being, as the media is dominant and positions the audience through an emotional connection. Ctausses (1968) Schema of Differential Audience Reach finds that not all members of the audience accept the media values transmitted. Ctausse displays how media messages go through a process of being offered, receivable, received, registered, before being potentially internalised by the audience. This is further examined by British Cultural Studies, who investigate the way audiences decode media messages. They find the decoding of media messages varies on primary definers and individual differences, such as social and linguistic differences (Hall, 1973). Three types of decoding were proposed by Hall (1973). Dominant decoding views that the audience acknowledges media values and easily accepts the media discourse. Negotiated decoding, detects that the audience recognises the media has interpreted the events in a certain way, the audience is not completely passive to media messages. Oppositional decoding, finds that the audience challenges media authority. An example of oppositional de coding would be the feminist approach to a male presented dominated programme. This is significant to the research as it implies that the Disney audience have individual differences and not all will decode the content in the same manner. However, this research is opposed by cultivation theory. Cultivation theory suggests that the more time spent by the individual watching television, the more the viewer will come to view reality through ideologies imposed by the media (Gerbner et al, 2002). This is reinforced by social learning theory, which implies that learning is influenced by people and events presented in the media (Bandura, 1994), finding media to be a large scale influence on how people perceive society. False representation of mental illness reinforced through the media can encourage the audience to conform and accept stereotypes. This may result in the possibility of negative attitudes towards individuals with mental illnesses obtained during childhood persevering into adul thood. Stuart Halls Reception Theory finds the media to have a polysemic structure, the producers of the media encode a message for the audience to decode (Kitzinger, 2004), implying that the audience are in control. This is further developed by Halls (1973) Encoding and Decoding model which considers the media as a process whereby messages are sent and received with certain effects that alter how the audience perceives things. As a result, media messages can be interpreted differently by audiences and may not be understood in the way desired by producers (Hall, 1973). It can be argued that this process encourages maximum potential of audience involvement, as the media acts as a socialising force, in the case of Disney it allows the development of marketing off the characters personas to society. In support of this, Fiske examined the notion of semiotic negotiation and resistance; the audience has the ability to shape media meaning to the self. This means that the audience can subvert confo rmity, they are not a slave to the media, and therefore Disney films do not necessarily affect how an individual views mental illness (Fiske, 1987). In contrast, Lazarsfeld and Merton (1948) perceive the media to be a form of entertainment, which allows the audience to escape the hardship of reality and simultaneously integrates society. However, it must be considered that this is only a theoretical perspective, it is formed of hypothesise and not first-hand research. Challenges to this theory include the Marxist perspective, which was further developed by the Neo-Marxist perspective as the media was not far developed in Karl Marxs lifetime. As we have seen earlier, it can be considered that Disney has a capitalistic nature and linguistic intentions may not be to harm the audience, but rather captivate them. The media, according to Baudrillard (1989), has created a new form of reality hyper reality where an image is produced by the media that is more real to the individual than the item is initially supposed to represent. This theory is further supported by Giroux (2002) who classifies Disney films as teaching machines (p. 100), enabled through marketing and globalisation. Overall, the media should be used to teach awareness of mental illness and not reinforce negative stereotypes (Stuart, 2006). Media Coverage of Mental Illness It must be considered that the media is used as a form of entertainment. The Uses and Gratification Model finds that the audience is an active force, who use the media for their own pleasure (Fiske, 1987). The media and its producers do not have power over the audience, it merely provides the audience with entertainment and diversion from reality. This is challenged by the Frankfurt School, who find the audience to be passive to media effects. They produced the hypodermic syringe model, which metaphorically analyses the audience as accepting an injection of information from a media source; the audience accepts the norms and values prescribed by the media. The model believes that there is a direct correlation between violent behaviour in the media and violent behaviour in reality, which could be applied to violent Disney villains (Haney, 2005). The Shift Media Survey of 2005 assessed the media coverage of mental health issues. The Shift Media Survey of 2005 conducted primary research, included the use of focus groups, interviews and using a range of media samples. It found only one example which concentrated on the negative stigma experienced by people with mental health problems, with the rest of the articles more focused on the issue of violence. This research can be applied to Disney movies, as villains are generally classed as being violent and acting deviant of social norms. The results of the focus group found that most individuals took the media at face value, highlighting the mass effect of the media and its ability to reinforce prejudices in society. This suggests that the negative stigma attached to mental illness by society is not based on any real knowledge, but on what society have been informed of via the mass media. However, the data of this research cannot be generalised to everyone due to its small specific sample, and correlational data does not imply causation. However, the problem with focus groups is that some participants may either hold back due to the lack of anonymity and confidentiality due to being in a group with other participants, or participants may attempt to answer the moderators questions with answers they presume the moderator wants to hear. Furthermore, the interpretation of focus group data may also vary between researchers. Though this research does no directly apply to Disney media production, its results can be assessed to understand whether the media has an impact on public opinion. Overall, the research finds that media generally portrays mental illness through a negative stereotype, used mainly to reinforce and sell stories associated with criminal or deviant behaviour. These negative stereotypes can also be used in childrens films to differentiate between good and evil characters, as shown by Robinson et al (2007) who discovers that a large percentage of old er Disney characters are associated with these negative stereotypes surrounding mental illness. This is further researched by Sadler (2005) through the notion of cultural sanctioning, the media reinforces cultural ideals, which at the same time maintains viewership through familiarity. Beveridge (1996) focused on the portrayal of mental illness in four classic Disney films: Dumbo, Alice in Wonderland, Mary Poppins, and Beauty and the Beast. Beveridge examined that sane characters that reacted strongly to a situation were negatively labelled as being mad. This is demonstrated in Dumbo through Dumbos mother defending her son against bullying, she is judged to be mad after her outrage and is subsequently locked away from society, implying that mental illness should be kept from society. McKie (2003) further argues that the negative perception of madness in childrens films is providing children with false impressions of mental illness. This article may not be an academic source, but it is an example of mass media implying that childrens films have an effect on the perception of mental illness, nevertheless it is supported by Mind (2011). Research completed by Mind (2011) suggests that the media is failing to give mental health enough consideration, as demonstrated by 4 5% of the people questioned couldnt recall seeing any reports about mental health in any media over the past twelve months. Only 33% of the participants could remember observing a newspaper report associated with mental illness, 25% could recall seeing a documentary broadcast directly based on the subject, and 22% viewed mental illness being addressed in television dramas. This data may not directly apply to Disney films, but it demonstrates how the media has a large scale impact on the publics recall and opinions. It can be criticised that these statistics are based on the memory and recall ability of participants, therefore the results may not be entirely accurate as some individuals may have forgotten about seeing some mental illness related reports, and this can affect the reliability of the data. Madness is the implication of an individual being in an idiosyncratic state, where people do not immediately understand or make sense of an individuals behaviour (Pilgrim, 2009). This can result in the implication of alienation, as demonstrated by Madhouses in Victorian society, which fuelled negative stereotypes of mental illness in society. Negative stereotypes may put people at risk of social exclusion and can lead to people feeling stigmatised by society. As a consequence, the individual may develop what Goffman (1963) calls a spoiled identity and demonstrate further abnormal behaviour in society. Goffman (1961) primarily writes about patients being institutionalised and the implications of psychiatric hospitals, but the writing can be applied to the treatment of Disney characters. For example, it can be related to a scene in Beauty and the Beast, where Maurice is locked away from society by the townsfolk as society doesnt accept his behaviour or opinions, this will be analysed f urther in the discussion section of the dissertation. Lawson and Fouts (2004) found 85% of 34 animated films produced by Disney between 1937 and 2001, contained references to characters with mental illness. There was an average of 4.6 references per film alienating characters, furthermore 21% of principal characters were being judged to have a mental illness. The research concludes that the use of terms such as crazy mad and nut allows a segregation of characters, separating them from what is classed as normal. This can provoke alienation and associate fear with characters deemed as being mentally ill. However, this study does not consider the appearance of characters, which could further affect the audiences perception of a character. This research may be dated due to more Disney films being released, it displays how frequently Disney refers to mental illness. It must also be considered that there is a time limit in the media when divulging a story, therefore the use of stereotypes to portray characters allows easier association with t he viewers daily life (Signorielli, 2001). In contrast to the research discussed, Booker (2010) finds that Disney encourages individualism that people do not need to change who they are to be accepted in society. Characters appear to suffer negative treatment by society until they learn to accept who they are. For example, this is shown through Dumbo learning to embrace his differences and proving himself to society. This could suggest that mental illness is related to moral failures. Medicine has adapted Disney characters to mental disorders, implying that science finds the Disney characters to be associated with mental illness. The psychological and personality disorders named after Disney characters, include: Peter Pan Syndrome, Sleeping Beauty Syndrome, Rapunzel Syndrome, and Cinderella Complex. These conditions imply that Disney characters have had a direct impact on mental illness. Peter Pan Syndrome, according to Kiley (1983), demonstrates the alienation of men failing to confront the emotional realities of society through their narcissistic nature, women are found accountable of accepting immature behaviour. The psychological condition finds that some members of society, like the fictional character, remain in a childish state, failing to accept appropriate adult roles in society. The work primarily focuses on men and shows how women mature faster. This is similar to the Disney film which shows Wendy to grow up and teach the other children how to behave. S leeping Beauty Syndrome is a disorder that involves people uncontrollably sleeping for days at a time. Rapunzel Syndrome often affects those with mental illness, as the Rapunzel character is implied to be suffering severe depression, it involves people eating their hair (Singla et al, 1999). Cinderella Complex finds women conform and lower expectations in order to fit into society, young girls have no aspirations, conforming to a stereotypical housewife lifestyle (Kerr, 1985). The research may be dated, but it supports the thesis of Disney affecting societys perception of mental illness. The medical model defines mental illness through classification schemes. There are several weaknesses of this model including the validity and reliability of diagnostic criteria (Sadler, 2005). The model ignores individual differences and classifies people into categories in which they might not belong. In opposition to this, Szasz (1961) puts forward the Myth of Mental Illness which contemplates whether mental illness actually exists, due to the overuse of the notion associated with problems of living. However, the existence of mental illness has been around for a long time and in a variety of cultures, implying that mental illness is not socially constructed, but that society can manipulate how mental illness is perceived. Szasz (1961) further examines that the label of mental illness allows the power of social control to discipline and manage those who wont conform. This includes state legislation, such as the Mental Health Act 2007 (CPS, 2013). Conclusions Whilst conducting the literature review, it has been understood that Walt Disney himself was associated with mental illness. His mother died when he was young, coincidently he was obsessed with the concept of family. This could have impacted the structure of Disney productions, as most Disney movies begin with the mother dying or already dead. However, this may not account for movies created after his death that contain references to mental illness, unless Disney are intending to stick to storylines that Walt Disney would find acceptable. Not all texts address mental illness in association to Disney films, as shown by Deconstructing Disney (Byrne and McQuillan, 2000) and Mouse Morality: The Rhetoric of Disney Animated Film (Ward, 2002). These books cover themes such as sexuality, race and gender, but fail to consider the implications Disney films have on mental health. The disregard implies that it is acceptable for Disney to stigmatise those who are mentally ill. The research discussed suggests that there has been little social change in regards to how the media portrays mental illness, there is a negative stereotype and this is presented in the selection of Disney films studied. However, I feel that there is only a limited number of studies and this is an area that needs to be examined in more detail. Each source analysed highlights a negative connotation attached to mental illness which has produced a stigma in society, reinforced by the media discourse. Wahl et al (2003) reach a concerning conclusion that future generations will be continually exposed to negative images and views of mental illness unless children are introduced to destigmatising programs. Instead of labelling someone as insane and producing a negative stigma, the media and society should focus on the specific problems and behaviours of the individual, fixing the negative stereotypes attached to mental illness (Jorm, 2000). While none of the above theories offer a solution to the negative association of mental illness, they do demonstrate awareness. There is no perspective that can be absolute when analysing social actions. Methodology This section will reflect how evidence will be collected to support the arguments of my research question. As discussed in the Literature Review, the majority of the previous work in this area has concentrated on stereotypes and the audience. In order to find out whether the publics perception of mental health is affected by Disney films, I need to establish initially how the public perceive mental health in order to reach a context specific definition of mental illness. The NHS is the largest publicly funded health service in existence, therefore I feel that they have a high enough influence to be regarded in this research in order to gain an understanding of mental health. I will use a publically available NHS document, in order to gain an understanding of what the British health system classifies mental illness as: Mental well-being crucially affects healthy functioning of individuals, families, communities and societies. It fundamentally affects behaviour, social cohesion, social inclusion and economic prosperity. Underlying social, economic and environmental dimensions that can affect a persons well-being relate to factors such as employment status, education, health and household/neighbourhood characteristics. (NHS Confederation, 2012). To find out whether the publics perception of mental health is affected by Disney films, I will conduct a content analysis to identify what terms related to mental illness are used in Disney films, I will then consider the contextual intentions of Disney. I will use theory to further analyse my results to gain a well-rounded view of the subject. I will also examine behavioural responses to Disney through the use of secondary research such as The Shift Media Survey of 2005 to examine my data. There is a mixed methods approach to the research, it is not specifically focused on quantitative or qualitative methods, allowing a continuum of the two. Selecting the Sample In order to examine whether Disneys portrayal of mental illness affects how society perceives mental illness, I have decided to base my research sample on the most popular Disney feature length films. I examined the success rate of films from each of them based on their profit, which combined with the availability of films, the following films were included: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Pinocchio (1940), Dumbo (1941), Cinderella (1950), Alice in Wonderland (1951), Peter Pan (1953), The Jungle Book (1967), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), The Lion King (1994), Toy Story (1995), Hercules (1997), Tarzan (1999), The Emperors New Groove (2000), The Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), Alice in Wonderland (2010). In total my sample consisted of sixteen Walt Disney Pictures, with only two films not being of an animated nature. Procedure To begin with, I viewed my selected films and took general notes which allowed me to create a basic coding scheme. I then re-watched the films to ensure reliability, I also re-recorded the occurrence of the selected terms associated with mental illness across a range of Disney films. The coding scheme included references to behaviour and the physical description of characters, such as mad insane and strange. I will also note the contextual circumstances of which the references were made. The coding scheme will initially exclude character names, but these will be noted for later consideration, e.g. The Mad Hatter. The context of code will be considered before recording to make sure the term is being used an appropriate sense. Once the coding was complete I noted the main themes that had emerged in order to aid my future analysis. Visual representations are also important to consider when studying mental illness in the media to examine how characters conform to stereotypes, as I found through my literature review that there was a lack of regard to character appearances. Analysis A content analysis describes what is there, but does not provide underlying reasoning, so I will be combining my research with a theoretical analysis. This will consist of selecting and discussing theoretical material and a detailed comparison of applicable theories. This will aid us in understanding whether certain theories help us to comprehend particular patterns of social behaviour. This approach will allow me to assess contrasting sources, allowing a more critical attitude. However, a content analysis describes what is there, but does not provide underlying reasoning. Data collected from a variety of sources, such as

Toni Morrisons Sula - Breaking the Rules :: Sula Essays

Breaking the Rules in Sula A community separates themselves from other individuals in a given society. Certain communities carry their own separate rules or laws. It combines a number of people into one group, one way of thinking. Many communities come together because they share the same common goal or interests. On may occasions, a group or community forms when someone is different from the majority. A good example of that would be when a child is being teased in school because he has glasses or braces. Toni morrison's Sula is a story about a woman whose individuality brought a little town in Ohio together to side with each other against her. The novel Sula raises the question in how people or communities come together. In Sula's case, her abandonment of the town has sent her in a position of being an outcast. Sula's community views her carefree and wild ways obscene and inappropriate. A good example would be her need for many sexual partners. Sula beds with many of the men in her town, whether they were married or not. " It was the only place where she could find what she was looking for: misery and an ability to feel deep sorrow .Lovemaking seemd to her, at first, the creation of a special kind of joy." (122) Her community believes a good woman her age should be a mother, wife and server to her household. A woman should remain at home and be dutiful and respectful. Sula is was not any of those things. From the start, she has always have been different, she preferred to do whatever it is that she likes to do. She went away to college , something that most people from her town seldom did. Sula went away to pursue a caree r and to fulfill her need for knowledge. She wanted to do everything to see everything and experiences as much experience as she could possibly gain while she was still young. It was peculiar to see the town coming together when Sula arrived back from college. Suddenly people in the town started siding with each other against Sula. They started viewing Sula as an oddball, a devil, as one lady described her, comparing Sula to the town outcast named Shadrack. The town started to look out for each other as well as they try to look out for themselves. Toni Morrison's Sula - Breaking the Rules :: Sula Essays Breaking the Rules in Sula A community separates themselves from other individuals in a given society. Certain communities carry their own separate rules or laws. It combines a number of people into one group, one way of thinking. Many communities come together because they share the same common goal or interests. On may occasions, a group or community forms when someone is different from the majority. A good example of that would be when a child is being teased in school because he has glasses or braces. Toni morrison's Sula is a story about a woman whose individuality brought a little town in Ohio together to side with each other against her. The novel Sula raises the question in how people or communities come together. In Sula's case, her abandonment of the town has sent her in a position of being an outcast. Sula's community views her carefree and wild ways obscene and inappropriate. A good example would be her need for many sexual partners. Sula beds with many of the men in her town, whether they were married or not. " It was the only place where she could find what she was looking for: misery and an ability to feel deep sorrow .Lovemaking seemd to her, at first, the creation of a special kind of joy." (122) Her community believes a good woman her age should be a mother, wife and server to her household. A woman should remain at home and be dutiful and respectful. Sula is was not any of those things. From the start, she has always have been different, she preferred to do whatever it is that she likes to do. She went away to college , something that most people from her town seldom did. Sula went away to pursue a caree r and to fulfill her need for knowledge. She wanted to do everything to see everything and experiences as much experience as she could possibly gain while she was still young. It was peculiar to see the town coming together when Sula arrived back from college. Suddenly people in the town started siding with each other against Sula. They started viewing Sula as an oddball, a devil, as one lady described her, comparing Sula to the town outcast named Shadrack. The town started to look out for each other as well as they try to look out for themselves.

Controversy before the Civil War Essay

During the expansion westward of United States, controversy between the Northern and the Southern States quickly arose. This was primarily due to the disagreement of what these new western territories would become- free or slave states. The Southern States wanted these new territories to support slavery so they could send more pro-slavery senators/ representatives to Congress, which was the opposite for the Northern States. Many important events from 1845-1861 quickly led to the start of the Civil War due to these Northern and Southern disputes. When the U.S. finally claimed more land after the Mexican War, the Southern and Northern States slowly began to move farther apart. Even though Northern congressmen supported the Wilmot Proviso, which banned slavery in all new Western territories, the Southern congressmen completely disagreed and went against it. The Compromise of 1850 was set to hopefully smooth these disputes over by supporting the idea of popular sovereignty, western lands having the right to determine by themselves whether they would be free or slave states. The Free-Soil Party also had a big impact. They opposed slavery’s expansion in the Western territories in the late 1840s and early 1850s. The Kansas-Nebraska Act and Dred Scott Case (1857) decision highlighted the slavery disagreement and caused even more problems between the Northern and Southern States, pushing the U.S. even closer to the Civil War. The Kansas-Nebraska Act, passed in 1854 as a small compromise, enforced popular sovereignty in Kansas and Nebraska, creating disagreements over whether these territories would choose to become free or slave states. The Kansas-Nebraska Act even created tensions over the overturned Missouri Compromise of 1820, which had held the nation together by allowing slavery north of the already created line. In result, pro-slavery and anti-slavery groups flooded Kansas and battled in the â€Å"Bleeding Kansas† conflict over whether the territory would become a free or slave state. The expansion westward was a big step for the United States, and it sparked a huge controversy between the Northern and Southern States. Southerners wanted these new territories to support slavery, so they could have more senators/representatives in congress, whereas the North wanted the new territories to reject slavery. Important events such as the Wilmot Proviso, Compromise of 1850, Popular Sovereignty, Dred Scott Case, Kansas/Nebraska Act, and Free Soilers all quickly sparked disputes between the North and the South during the years 1845-1861 prior to the Civil War.

The 5-4-20 Mandate essays

The 5-4-20 Mandate essays Victorian nurses, on the 9th of November 2003 launched a campaign to block the progress of the state government move to change work conditions for Victorians nurses. All the Australian nursing Federation (ANF) wants is to keep the 5-4-20 Mandate. Introduced 4 years ago, the 5-4-20 Mandate means, 5 nurses taking care of 20 patients, a 5-to-4 ratio. But this ratio is a minimum; it can be altered depending patients nursing needs. When the mandate was agreed on, the state government sent letters to 71,000 registered nurses, asking them to come back to the profession because There never has been a better time. The ratio recruited 4000 nurses back. Just because nurses see the 5-4-20 mandates a great improvement to a stressful job. The 4000 nurses who were lured back into the profession had the rug pulled from under them, when the Bracks Government, who we chose over the Kennet government for better health and education services, wanted to replace the 5-4-20 mandate with a computerized program. Trend care a program which works out patient dependency, is a great risk to patient safely according to nurses who have undergone the program, they believe that it underestimates nursing time each patient needs, This surely is quite risky. Nurses who undergo this system fear it. Nurse Di Swanson has been through it all. She was an adviser to a Labor Health minister, David White; she has worked as a nurse, under the ratio system and has operated the program, Trend Care. From her experience Di Swanson believes that nurses spent too much time at the computer she believes nurses should be able to talk with patients formal support, but with Trend Care the moral support is not there. Nurses have key in all relevant information about each patient; they also have to time themselves while taking care of their patients. None pulls out a stop watch when a surgeon per ...

Physical Theatre Essays

Physical Theatre Essays Physical Theatre Essay Physical Theatre Essay Physical Theatre History: * Physical theatre is a catch-all term to describe any performance that pursues storytelling through primary physical means * The term â€Å"physical theatre† has been applied to performances consisting mainly of: 1. Mime 2. Contemporary dance 3. Theatrical clowning and other physical comedy 4. Some forms of puppetry 5. Theatrical acrobatics * Modern physical theatre has grown from a variety of origins.Mime and theatrical clowning schools such as L’Ecole Jacques Lecoq Paris, have had a big influence on many modern expressions of Physical Theatre. * Another tradition started with the very famous French master  Etienne Decroux  (father of  corporeal mime). Decrouxs aim was to create a theatre based on the physicality of the actor allowing the creation of a more  metaphorical theatre. This tradition has grown and corporeal mime is now taught in many major theatrical schools. Legacy: Physical theatre had become such a big phenomenon today, being shown in movie such as â€Å"Stomp the Yard† and â€Å"Step Up† as well as huge worldwide productions such as â€Å"Wicked†, â€Å"Cirque de Solei† and â€Å"Hairspray† * We are the building block of the movement of physical theatre.Techniques: * Important theatre directions such as Vsevolod Meyerhold,  Jerzy Grotowski,  Eugenio Barba,  Ariane Mnouchkine  and  Tadashi Suzuki  all explored and developed a variety of intense training techniques for their actors, that were intended to liberate actors and audiences from boring and unstimulating performances. They argued that a performing body should be an instrument of expression that has unique rhythms and patterns that must be amplified, developed and mastered before a performance can be viewed as effective. * They also advocated a variety of training regimes and exercises to develop what they believed were important connections between the communication of physical and emotional tr uth in actors and many of their suggestions have been taken up by acting schools in a number of countries.

IT IS THE DRUGS THAT MADE ME DO IT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

IT IS THE DRUGS THAT MADE ME DO IT - Essay Example In claiming that their addiction led someone into a life of crime is a fallacy, at best. Criminal behaviour, like drug abuse, alcohol abuse, truancy, spousal abuse, promiscuity, and other risky behaviours are all lifestyle choices. One does not cause another. The confusion and misconception that has surrounded this notion for years lies in the fact that often risky behaviour such as drug abuse and criminal behaviour are, along with other behaviours, found in the same groups of people – those who chose this type of life for themselves. In the following report, conclusive proof is respectfully presented to the court which conclusively proves that heroin abuse doe not cause a person to commit a crime. Criminal behavior is a deliberate lifestyle choice. The cost of drug abuse and known crime is huge; however, as will be shown shortly, much of the drug related crime either goes unreported, unsolved or not connected to drug abuse. The problem is pervasive both in the UK and within the United States. As early as 1998 it was estimated that in the UK alone the cost of drug offenders within the criminal justice system was conservatively set at  £1 billion per year, and that is just the beginning. Police in the UK estimate that approximately 50% of the drug related crime is hidden.1 This will be shown in detail shortly, but, in effect, either drug related crimes are not reported, are not solved, or the offender is convicted of the crime but it is not linked to drug abuse. The relationship between drug abuse and criminality has been noted empirically since the 1960s. However, it was not until the following decade that the extent and nature of this causal relationship began to be understood. As early as 1974 Greenberg and Adler’s study concluded that heroin use could not be linked to criminal behaviour as the vast majority of the subjects in their study possessed a long history of

Transition from Military to a Democracy Rule in South Korea Research Paper

Transition from Military to a Democracy Rule in South Korea - Research Paper Example This paper considers the process of successful transition from a military dictatorship regime to a democratic led nation in South Korea. It attempts to study that process and give an explanation to success of that transition, that brought economic prosperity to the country. The history of the path to democracy in South Korea began in the year 1945 when the country liberated itself from colonial rule by the Japanese. Economic development was envisaged to pick soon after. However, the postcolonial period saw a shift from Japanese led colonial leadership to an authoritarian rule, also referred to as a strong state. This shift was mostly fuelled by political divisions in the period after liberalization and the Korean War. The continued authoritarian rule elicited country wide protests, which continued to gain support and momentum as the strong state ideology also continued to widen and deepen. The protests were in favor of democratization, with the protestors demanding the adoption of democracy in governance, and consequently formed a resistance union, called the democratization movement’s resistance. Increased confrontations and resultant clashes between the pro democracy and the authoritarian rule parties led to the start of the journey to democracy which was characterized by a series of movements. These include the 1960 revolution which took place on April 19th, the uprising of 1980 popularly known as the Gwangju Popular Uprising, and lastly the 1987 June Democratic Uprising. The direct and democratic election of Kim Dae Jung as president of South Korea in 1997 propelled the country into a state of political and economic stability signifying the strong correlation that exists between democracy and economic development.